A little bit of…history
Each bottle of ROKU GIN, encloses 100 years of dreams and perseverance.
The dream of the young Japanese, Shinjiro Torii, was to create authentic Japanese spirits appreciated by the whole world, based on the uniqueness of the Japanese land and culture. In 1899 he founded his company,Τhe Torii Shoten Store, the predecessor of Suntory. Shinjiro overcame numerous hardships to make his dream a reality, creating wine, whisky, brandy and launching in 1936, the first Suntory gin, the HERMES Gin. Shinjiro and his successors continued to work hard on building a deep knowledge of distilling alcohol.
His vision was that "someday the spirits that are produced in Japan will be cherished by the whole world"
The creation and perfection of ROKU are based on the result of more than 100 years' expertise.
Substance
The first thought was the creation of a gin that will perfectly match with Japanese food. For this reason the designing of the bottle and the spirit took almost ten years.
Roku is produced in the specialized distillery “Liquor Atelier”, that owns four distinct types of pot stills. The botanicals are distilled separately according their features, in order to preserve their distinct characteristics and their best flavour. For instance, the delicate scene of cherry blossom is drawn out through vacuum distillation in stainless pot stills, whereas the deep flavour of YUZU is achieved by distillation in copper pot stills.
In total 14 different botanicals are distilled.
6 of them are Japanese botanicals cultivated over four seasons and harvested at the peak of their season to extract the best flavours and aromas.
In Spring, Sakura flower (cherry blossom) and Sakura Leaf are collected.
During Summer, Sencha Tea (strong green tea that grows under the sun) and Gyokuro Tea (premium green tea with gentle flavour that grows in the shadow) are handpicked.
Sansho pepper (a pepper that is commonly used in Japan with intense citrus aromas) is harvested in Autumn.
Winter is the season for collecting the Υuzu fruit (rare and very expensive citrus fruit. It is a cherished ingredient among famous Chefs and is considered as a super fruit) for using its peels.
The 8 rest botanicals that are used, are traditional and well known: Juniper, coriander, angelica root, angelica seed, cardamon, cinnamon bitter orange peel, and lemon peel.
These 14 extracts are carefully blended and create ROKU GIN.
The bottle..
In Japanese, ROKU translates as the number of 6, as the Japanese botanicals that are used for its creation, and this is why its bottle is a perfect hexagon. Εach side of the bottle is embossed with one of the 6 Japanese elements. The bottle label is printed on Washi paper, which is traditional Japanese paper processed by hand and is registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
Characteristics
Nose: Elegant and provocative. Notes of sweet citrus fruits (peels), juniper, flowers, green tea pepper.
Mouth: Perfectly balanced. Floral notes (cherry blossom, jasmine), Juniper, citrus fruits, green teal and allspice. Full body with long and multidimensional aftertaste.
Food pairing: Ideal for sushi and tuna tartare.
Perfect Serve: Japanese Gin N' Tonic with Thomas Henry Premium Tonic and 6 very thin sticks of fresh Ginger.
